58-585: The Brisbane River ( Turrbal : Maiwar ) is the longest river in South East Queensland , Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane , before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea . John Oxley , the first European to explore the river, named it after the Governor of New South Wales , Sir Thomas Brisbane in 1823. The penal colony of Moreton Bay later adopted the same name, eventually becoming
116-489: A "stone wharf presumably used for landing the blocks of stone ferried across the river for the construction of buildings in the settlement". This was in the vicinity of Edward Street ferry terminal. Quarrying this volcanic rock formed part of the hard labour undertaken by the convicts of the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement , which not only provided the convicts with the punishment of hard labour but also provided
174-458: A dialect of the language of Yagera, in the technical linguistic sense where mutually intelligible dialects are deemed to belong to a single language. Bowern considers Turrbal to be one of five languages of the "Turubulic" language group, the others being Nunukul, Yaraga, Janday and Guwar. Some words from the Turrbal / Yagara language include: The literary journal Meanjin takes its name from
232-468: A language, group of languages or as a dialect of another language. F. J. Watson classifies Turrbal ( E86 ) as a sub group of Yugarabul E66 , which is most likely the language Yagara E23 . Norman Tindale uses the term Turrbal ( E86 ) to refers to speakers of the language of Yagara E23 . John Steele classifies Turrbal ( E86 ) as a language within the Yagara language group. R. M. W. Dixon classifies Turrbal as
290-515: A natural tidal limit of only 16 km (10 mi). The current tidal limit now extends 85 km (53 mi) upstream due to continual channel dredging. The first bridge built across the Brisbane River was the original timber Victoria Bridge , opened in 1865 between Brisbane and South Brisbane. The current concrete Victoria Bridge is the 4th to be built on the site, the original bridge collapsed after marine borers weakened its timber piles, and
348-507: A railway linking the towns was built in 1875. By the late 1920s, water quality in the river had significantly deteriorated. Multiple major floods occurred in 1893. In 1974, the most damaging flood on record occurred, causing the 66,000-tonne vessel Robert Miller (largest ship ever built on the river) to break free from its mooring. Other major floods occurred in January 2011 and February 2022 . Extensive port facilities have been constructed on
406-535: A separate high school opened on 25 January 1988. On Monday 10 September 1906, St Andrew's Anglican Church Hall was opened in Toogoolwah by Archbishop St Clair Donaldson . On Sunday 12 May 1912, St Andrew's Anglican Church was dedicated by Archbishop St Clair Donaldson. A condensed milk factory was built shortly after the railway station was opened. The factory was closed in 1929, after Nestlé moved all its condensed milk production to Victoria , resulting in
464-437: A somewhat reluctant guide, entered the river and sailed upstream as far as present-day Goodna . Oxley noted the abundant fish and tall pine trees . Early European explorers marvelled at the sheer natural beauty they witnessed while travelling up the lower reaches. Reports by early European explorers such as Allan Cunningham and Oxley indicate rainforest once fringed the Brisbane River and its major tributaries, especially on
522-474: A suitable new site for a convict settlement to be established. An entry in Oxley's diary on 19 November 1823 describes his surprise meeting with one of the shipwrecked men: By that time Pamphlett and Finnegan were living with natives near Bribie Island . Parsons, who had continued to travel north in search of Sydney, was picked up by Oxley on 11 September 1824. On 2 December 1823, Oxley and Stirling, with Finnegan as
580-533: A timber getting mission to Illawarra, Thomas Pamphlett , John Finnegan , Richard Parsons and John Thompson were blown north by a storm. They went 21 days without water, continuing north in the belief they had been blown south, during which time Thompson died. They landed on Moreton Island on 16 April and made it to the mainland on the south of the Brisbane River. They immediately began trekking north in order to return to Sydney, still believing themselves to be somewhere south of Jervis Bay. Subsequently, they became
638-638: A village in Derbyshire , for the new town and railway station, but the Queensland Railways Department wanted to use an Aboriginal name. Toogoolawah is derived from the Aboriginal words "dhoo" (a generic term for tree) and "goo/lawa", meaning "crescent shaped" or "bent like a crescent moon ". The name probably referred to a tree with a deformed trunk which stood on the site in Bulimba, rather than to
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#1732881555234696-448: Is a government secondary (7–12) school for boys and girls at 76 Old Mount Beppo Road ( 27°06′09″S 152°23′18″E / 27.1026°S 152.3883°E / -27.1026; 152.3883 ( Toogoolawah State High School ) ). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 267 students with 33 teachers (29 full-time equivalent) and 22 non-teaching staff (14 full-time equivalent). Brisbane Valley Cluster Special Education Program
754-414: Is a primary and secondary (Early Childhood-12) special education program at Toogoolawah State High School at 76 Old Mount Beppo Road ( 27°06′09″S 152°23′18″E / 27.1026°S 152.3883°E / -27.1026; 152.3883 ( Brisbane Valley Cluster – Special Education Program ) ). Toogoolawah is home to a fun-jumping and tandem skydiving centre. Toogoolawah featured on
812-618: Is a rural town and locality in the Somerset Region , Queensland , Australia. In the 2021 census , Toogoolawah had a population of 1,200 people. Toogoolawah is in South East Queensland . Toogoolawah is a centre for gliding and parachuting and in the past the centre of a dairying industry . Cressbrook Creek, a tributary of the Brisbane River , passes through the town as does the Brisbane Valley Highway . The district
870-784: Is south of Avoca Vale , and the river then makes its way south past townships including Linville , Moore and Toogoolawah before being joined by the Stanley River , just south of Somerset Dam . The river runs from there into Lake Wivenhoe , created by the Wivenhoe Dam. Beyond the dam, the river meanders eastward, meeting the Bremer River near Ipswich , then making its way through Brisbane's western suburbs, including Jindalee , Indooroopilly and Toowong . The Brisbane River then flows past wharves including Pinkenba Wharf and Portside Wharf , past Bulwer Island and Luggage Point through
928-412: Is the river's first underground crossing for road transport. The Moggill Ferry continues to provide a crossing for vehicles northeast of Ipswich . The Albert Bridge was the first railway crossing of the Brisbane River, opened in 1876. It was destroyed in the 1893 flood and replaced by a 2 span design that is flood tolerant. A second bridge was built adjacent to it, opened in 1957 in conjunction with
986-478: The 2011 census , the locality of Toogoolawah had a population of 1,162 people. In the 2016 census , Toogoolawah had a population of 1,279 people. In the 2021 census , Toogoolawah had a population of 1,200 people. Toogoolawah has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: The Somerset Regional Council operate a public library at Gunyah Street. There are three pubs in Toogoolawah, all situated on
1044-558: The Brisbane Valley railway line from Esk to the new town (18.69 kilometres or 11.61 miles) was opened on 8 February 1904. A Toogoolawah receiving office was opened in June 1904 and was elevated to post office status in July 1905. Toogoolawah Provisional School opened on 30 May 1905. On 1 January 1909, it became Toogoolawah State School. A secondary department was added on 28 January 1975 until
1102-538: The Port of Brisbane and into southern Bramble Bay an embayment of Moreton Bay . On the southern side of the river, opposite Gardens Point , are the Kangaroo Point Cliffs ; made from Triassic aged volcanic rock of rhyolite composition called Brisbane tuff . The Kangaroo Point Cliffs were created by a quarrying operation that, according to Allan Cunninghams' Field Book, was underway prior to 1829 when he observed
1160-500: The Seventeen Mile Rocks were completely removed in 1965 after numerous partially successful attempts in the past. The northern river bank at the mouth of the river has undergone reclamation projects over the years, especially in the suburbs of Hamilton and Pinkenba . More recently, extensive facilities for the Port of Brisbane have been constructed on Fisherman's Island which has also seen significant land reclamation into
1218-543: The Turrbal language (the language of an Aboriginal group native to the Brisbane area). The name is also used for the inner-western state electorate of Maiwar . According to Archibald Meston and Tom Petrie in 1901, the Aboriginal people of the Brisbane area did not have a single name for the river, but rather they named individual reaches and bends. The Brisbane River East and West branches traditionally have their headwaters in
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#17328815552341276-539: The University of Queensland St Lucia campus), and the Jack Pesch Bridge between Indooroopilly and Chelmer . The Brisbane City Council has announced plans for a pedestrian and cycle only bridge between Kangaroo Point and the city. The Brisbane City Council has developed a network of riverwalk pavements along the banks of the Brisbane River. The Riverwalk runs along much of the Brisbane River foreshore throughout
1334-402: The capsize of the ferry Pearl (which struck the anchor chain of the government yacht Lucinda ) with the loss of around 40 lives. By 1928, due to the early settlement of Brisbane, the water quality had deteriorated to the point where several public baths had to cease sourcing water from the river. Yet even up to the 1930s, the water was said to be very clear, with reports of people seeing
1392-404: The Brisbane River has been dredged for navigation purposes. Throughout much of the 20th century large quantities of sand and gravel were extracted from the estuary of the river. Since the rate of materials being deposited is not as high as that which was removed, the river has acted as a subaqueous mine . In 1865, water police were stationed on board Proserpine , a hulk moored at the mouth of
1450-407: The Brisbane River has the potential to be devastating, as documented in 1974, 2011 and 2022. For much of the river's length its banks are relatively high, but topped by a broad plain. The river's meandering course means that flood waters from upstream cannot be quickly discharged into Moreton Bay. Thus higher than normal flows cause river levels to rise rapidly and once the top of the banks are breached
1508-473: The Brisbane River was spiritually important and a vital food source for the Aboriginal people of the Turrbal people, primarily through fishing in the tidal sections downstream. Additionally, fishing and fire-stick farming took place in the upper reaches of the river where there was freshwater, in some seasons. Four European navigators , namely James Cook , Matthew Flinders , John Bingle and William Edwardson , all visited Moreton Bay but failed to discover
1566-449: The Brisbane River. In 1866, there was a breakwater built at the junction of the Bremer and Brisbane rivers that was designed to stop shingle from blocking the access to the Bremer's boat channel. The first pile light using kerosene was built in 1882. The steel framed light also served as an early port signal station . In February 1896, one of the river's worst disasters occurred with
1624-538: The Brisbane river to date. These were seen by Liel Daniel. In 1823 John Oxley named the river after the Governor Thomas Brisbane while surveying the area to locate a new penal settlement. The name is of Scottish origin, dating from at least 1643, from their family lands at Rothiebrisbane, Aberdeenshire . This is the name now used by the Queensland Government. Maiwar is the name of the river in
1682-483: The Fisherman Islands, now known as the Port of Brisbane , located at the mouth of the river on Moreton Bay . There are 16 major bridges that cross the river. The Clem Jones Tunnel , opened in 2010, is the river's first underground crossing for road transport. The CityCat and KittyCat ferry services deliver passengers along the inner-city reaches of the river. There are only 20 bullsharks documented to be seen in
1740-455: The River. Past floods have resulted in both deepening and reduction in river depth, creation of new sand banks and shoals as well as increased transport of suspended sediment from upstream. Before the invention of modern dredging techniques the sediment deposited by flooding created hazards to ships navigating the river. Even medium-sized vessels no longer travel up the Brisbane River beyond
1798-457: The Turrbal name for the land centred at Gardens Point on which Brisbane was founded. This name is sometimes used for the greater Brisbane area. The Australian English word yakka , an informal term referring to any work, especially of strenuous kind, comes from a Yagara word yaga , the verb for 'work'. Toogoolawah, Queensland Download coordinates as: Toogoolawah ( / t uː ˈ ɡ uː l ə w ə / too- GOO -lə-wə )
Brisbane River - Misplaced Pages Continue
1856-429: The bay. Early rivers crossings were made using small oared boat ferries , beginning in 1843, followed by steam ferries. In 1865 the first Victoria Bridge , later destroyed in a flood, was built across the river. Professor Hawken of the University of Queensland undertook a study in 1914 to identify the future crossing points for the river. Historically, the Brisbane River contained upstream bars and shallows and had
1914-412: The broader floodplains such as St Lucia and Seventeen Mile Rocks . The coastal lowlands were extensively vegetated with Melaleuca woodlands in low lying, poorly drained coastal areas. When first described by Europeans, the lower reaches of the Brisbane River were fringed by a mosaic of open forest, closed forest and rainforest. In the same year of 1823, the river was named after Sir Thomas Brisbane ,
1972-481: The city reach, and dredging of the upper reaches has ceased, allowing the river to recover substantially from the fine silt dislodged by gravel and sand extraction. Significant floods have occurred several times since the European settlement of Brisbane. There have been 12 Major flood peaks (over 3.5m) recorded at the Brisbane gauge since records began in 1841, including: Post construction of Wivenhoe Dam Flooding along
2030-467: The cliffs was deposited in the Triassic period about 220 million years ago. They currently form the banks of the Brisbane River. A number of the reaches of the Brisbane River are named, including the following listed below (from upstream to downstream), together with their location relative to tributaries of the river and river crossings : The following major tributaries flow into the Brisbane River from
2088-472: The first known Europeans to discover the river, stumbling across it somewhere near the entrance. They walked upstream along its banks for nearly a month before making their first crossing at Canoe Reach, the junction of Oxley Creek. It was here they stole a small canoe left by the Turrbal people of the region. John Oxley was Surveyor General of New South Wales when, in the same year and under orders from Governor Brisbane, he sailed into Moreton Bay looking for
2146-470: The first pilots were commissioned to guide ships entering from Moreton Bay and another service for those travelling upstream. Flying boats used the waters of the river in Pinkenba , to take-off for domestic and international destinations in the 1930s. The river depth was progressively increased and narrow points widened to allow larger vessels into the river and further upstream. For navigation and safety reasons
2204-487: The floodwaters can spread over wide areas of the city. There has been much dredging and widening work done over the years to allow ships to transport cargo to and from Brisbane the river is no longer dredged. The river served as an important carriageway between Brisbane and Ipswich before a railway linking the towns was built in 1875. By early 1825 buoys were being laid along the South Passage and shortly after that
2262-855: The inner-city area, with the longest span running between Newstead and Toowong . Another popular stretch runs beneath the Kangaroo Point Cliffs between South Brisbane and Kangaroo Point . Several spans of the Riverwalk are built out over the Brisbane River. Turrbal language Turrbal is an Aboriginal Australian language of the Turrbal people of the Brisbane area of Queensland . Alternate spellings include Turubul, Turrubal, Turrabul, Toorbal, and Tarabul. The four dialects listed in Dixon (2002) are sometimes seen as separate Durubalic languages , especially Jandai and Nunukul ; Yagara, Yugarabul, and Turrbul proper are more likely to be considered dialects. Turrbal ( E86 ) has been variously classified as
2320-476: The main road. Toogoolawah State School is a government primary (Early Childhood to Year 6) school for boys and girls at Gardner Street ( 27°05′30″S 152°22′45″E / 27.0917°S 152.3792°E / -27.0917; 152.3792 ( Toogoolawah State School ) ). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 171 students with 16 teachers (12 full-time equivalent) and 11 non-teaching staff (7 full-time equivalent). Toogoolawah State High School
2378-419: The main water supply for Brisbane. The waterway is a habitat for the rare Queensland lungfish , Brisbane River cod (extinct), and bull sharks . Early travellers along the waterway admired the natural beauty, abundant fish and rich vegetation along its banks. From 1862 the Brisbane River has been dredged for navigation purposes. The river served as an important carriageway between Brisbane and Ipswich before
Brisbane River - Misplaced Pages Continue
2436-456: The north; Breakfast Creek , Moggill Creek and the Stanley River . On the southside Bulimba Creek , Norman Creek , Oxley Creek , Bremer River and Lockyer Creek waterways enter the Brisbane River. The following smaller creeks also flow into the river; Cressbrook Creek, Cooyar Creek, Cubberla Creek, Black Snake Creek, Wolston Creek, Woogaroo Creek, Goodna Creek, Six Mile Creek, Pullen Pullen Creek and Kholo Creek. Before European settlement,
2494-521: The present city of Brisbane. The river is a tidal estuary and the water is brackish from its mouth through the majority of the Brisbane metropolitan area westward to the Mount Crosby Weir . The river is wide and navigable throughout the Brisbane metropolitan area. The river travels 344 km (214 mi) from Mount Stanley. The river is dammed by the Wivenhoe Dam , forming Lake Wivenhoe ,
2552-470: The proposed Queensland Cultural Centre . The jets pushed the floodlit river water up to 75 m (246 ft) in the air. The floating fountain sank late on the 31 December 1984. 1987 was proclaimed the "Year of the River" by the Lord Mayor of Brisbane at the time, Sallyanne Atkinson . Over the 20th century, enough obstacles, sand and gravel had been removed from the river that its channel depth increased
2610-485: The purpose by Governor Sir Thomas Brisbane. Gray also transferred the soldiers and convicts from the First Settlement at Redcliffe at this time. The first small private wharves were built on the river in about 1848. and the once popular, shark-proof river baths were first built in 1857 at Kangaroo Point. By 1850, nearly all the prime alluvial lands in the Brisbane River valley had been taken up by settlers. From 1862
2668-637: The quadruplication of the railway between Roma Street and Corinda . The Merivale Bridge , opened in 1978, connects the South Brisbane railway system to the City. Four bridges have been built that cater for pedestrians and bicycles, being the Goodwill Bridge and Kurilpa Bridge in the City area, the Eleanor Schonell Bridge between Dutton Park and St Lucia (which also caters for public buses to
2726-562: The ranges east of Kingaroy . The two branches merge into a single watercourse south of Mount Stanley. Using an alternative modern definition, the source is located at the top of Fig Tree Gully in the Bunya Mountains , which are the headwaters of the river's longest tributary Cooyar Creek. Water from the highest point in the catchment has fallen on the Bunya Mountains, 992m above sea level. The junction of Cooyar Creek and Brisbane River
2784-508: The river bed 5 to 6 m (16 to 20 ft) below the surface. Swimming was once popular at Oxley Point under the Walter Taylor Bridge . In the middle tidal reaches in more recent times, visibility has been about 0.2 m (8 in). As Brisbane grew, the condition of the river worsened until at its worst it was no more than an open sewer and waste dump. The banks were cleared of timber and introduced animals and plants rapidly changed
2842-545: The river's ecology to its detriment. On 25 March 1941, a USA goodwill flotilla arrived in the city docking at wharves along the River and built Naval Base Brisbane . The largest ship built on the river was the Robert Miller . Construction was near complete when the 66,000 tonne vessel became un-moored in the 1974 Brisbane flood . In 1977, Queen Elizabeth II switched on the Jubilee Fountain positioned in front of
2900-570: The river. The exploration by Flinders took place during his expedition from Port Jackson north to Hervey Bay in 1799. He spent a total of 15 days in the area, touching down at Woody Point and several other spots, but failed to discover the mouth of the river although there were suspicions of its existence. This is consistent with accounts of many other rivers along the east coast of Australia, which could not be found by seaward exploration but were discovered by inland travellers. On 21 March 1823, four ticket-of-leave convicts sailing south from Sydney on
2958-426: The second was destroyed in the 1893 flood . As of 2012 the Brisbane River is crossed by 16 major bridges (counting the new second Gateway, now Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge), including the historic 1940 Story Bridge and the tolled Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges . There are two other major bridges upstream (west) of Brisbane, on the D'Aguilar Highway and the Brisbane Valley Highway . The Clem Jones Tunnel , opened in 2010,
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#17328815552343016-565: The settlement with a useful building material. Many of the early buildings including the Commissariat Store, Brisbane were built by convicts using tuff from this quarry. After the penal settlement was closed, the Petrie family leased the cliffs and quarried the tuff for use in their construction projects, but ultimately quarrying this material became uneconomic without the free labour of the convicts. The volcanic rock Ignimbrite which formed
3074-450: The supposed shape outlined by the Brisbane River as it rounds Bulimba Point, as has been alleged. Cressbrook Provisional School was operating in 1881 but closed in 1882 due to low student numbers; its opening date is unknown. What is now Toogoolawah town was surveyed privately when Cressbrook estate was subdivided and sold as dairy farms in 1904. The town plan was not registered with the survey office until 1 June 1909. The extension of
3132-575: The then Governor of New South Wales . Upon the establishment of a local settlement in 1824, other explorers such as Allan Cunningham, Patrick Logan and Major Edmund Lockyer made expeditions and surveys further upstream, and, in May 1825, the Moreton Bay penal colony at Redcliffe under the command of Heny Miller relocated to North Quay . The entrance to the Brisbane River was surveyed and marked with buoys in May 1825 by Pilot John M Gray sent from Sydney for
3190-412: The tidal flow and tidal range upstream. On 9 August 2020, it was discovered that Google Maps accidentally changed the Brisbane River name to Ithaca Creek after a complaint that Ithaca Creek was incorrectly named Brisbane River. The Brisbane River floods frequently, although the occurrence and magnitude of flooding has diminished following the construction of the Wivenhoe Dam on the upper reaches of
3248-873: The town's population decreasing by half. The Toogoolawah War Memorial commemorates those who served in World War I . Unlike most war memorials that were erected after the war, the Toogoolawah memorial was unveiled during the war on 31 March 1917 by the Rev. Chaplain Merrington. On 20 October 1940, a church building was relocated to Toogoolawah to reopen in Gardner Street North as the Cornerstone Lutheran Church ( 27°05′17″S 152°22′45″E / 27.08794°S 152.37923°E / -27.08794; 152.37923 ( Cornerstone Lutheran Church ) ). It
3306-529: Was formerly the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Jeebropilly , which opened on 20 April 1898, closing circa 1938. Toogoolawah State High School opened on 25 January 1988, replacing the secondary department attached to Toogoolawah State School. Toogoolawah Library had a major refurbishment in 2006. Toogoolawah was partially cut off by flooding as a result of the 2010–2011 Queensland floods . In
3364-578: Was originally known as Cressbrook after the Cressbrook Station operated by James Henry McConnel. The town took its present name Toogoolawah from its former railway station, which was named in November 1903 using the name Tugulawah proposed by McConnel, the name of the McConnel's residence at Bulimba , Brisbane (now known as Bulimba House ). McConnel had originally suggested the name Bakewell after
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